select a research essay that you have written in the past or use the essay you have been working on in the "research paper" lessons throughout this unit. carefully examine the conclusion of your essay. is it the best conclusion it can be? does it properly summarize the main subtopics of your essay? does it state in one or two sentences the “so what” of your topic. if your topic was abraham lincoln, your essay shouldn’t be just about abraham lincoln. it should answer, “so what about abraham lincoln? ” take five or ten minutes, and looking only at that single paragraph, revise your conclusion.